A couple of changes are coming to the UFC Vegas 86 card this weekend.
On Tuesday, UFC announced that Melsik Baghdasaryan is out of his planned featherweight matchup with Hyder Amil, and that Albert Duraev is out of his scheduled middleweight bout against Robert Bryczek. In their stead, Fernie Garcia will be stepping for injured Baghdasaryan, while Ihor Potieria steps in for Duraev, who had visa issues.
Garcia (10-4) joined the UFC in 2022 off of Contender Series, but has struggled to make much of an impression in the octagon, losing all three of his bouts. Amil is also a Contender Series standout, earning a contract from his appearance on the show last year. This will be his UFC debut.
Like Garcia, Potieria (19-5) entered the UFC in 2022 off of an impressive Contender Series showing, but he’s also struggled to make waves inside the octagon. Potieria is 1-3 in the promotion, with all three of his losses coming by way of knockout. Bryczek, meanwhile, will be making his UFC debut.
UFC Vegas 86 takes place this Saturday at the UFC Apex, headlined by a middleweight matchup between Jack Hermansson and Joe Pyfer.